Lost and Found (Bechloe AU)
by MightyTacos
Summary: Chloe Beale, an incredibly talented and famous actress, happens to lose her dog whilst filming her latest movie. After several attempts to find her dog, she ends up posting on social media for help finding him. It wasn't until amateur music producer Beca Mitchell randomly stumbled upon the dog on her way home that Chloe was able to reunite with her furry best friend.
1. Chapter 1

Chloe Beale was a well-known actress. Everyone knew her bold yet characteristic red hair from the frequency in which she starred in blockbuster films. She was in at least one movie a year, hopping from project to project in a seemingly effortless fashion. Her workaholic nature and overall talent in acting had scored her a variety of roles, spanning from musicals to horror films to chick flicks. This kind of attention had granted her constant talk show interviews, magazine shoots, and even the title "the ginger Sandra Bullock." She was, by consequence, everywhere.

Chloe Beale was a well-known actress.

So when her small little dog went missing, basically the entire world knew. She normally took her dog with her to every set, letting him sit in her lap whilst she sat in the makeup trailer. However, Chloe was stationed at a new set for an upcoming movie, and her dog had managed to escape her trailer during filming. After a solid day of forcing the cast and crew to search for her beloved dog, she ended up posting a sad callout post on her Instagram, hoping that a kind stranger across the city of Los Angeles would find her dog and bring him back to her.

 **chloebeale:** The love of my life, my dog Billie, somehow escaped the set of When in Rome and has been missing for several days. I've been searching relentlessly for him and thought I would find him by now, but neither me nor the cast has been able to find him around the studio. If someone has any sort of news or has spotted my dog, please let me know! He is kind and friendly so don't be scared to approach him. He also really likes hot dogs! He is most likely somewhere around LA and I hope you guys can help me find him!

The fact that she had several million Instagram followers both helped and hurt: although her post would reach a lot of people, her inbox was usually flooded from fan messages. Adding to the point that wealth tended to accompany fame, Chloe chalked her dog's return to good faith in humanity, hoping that someone wasn't sadistic enough to keep him for ransom or to blackmail her. She was still obviously worried, and spent her time between takes constantly scouring her direct messages for any news. This current week in filming happened to be the more melancholic component of her upcoming movie, so she was still able to keep working despite the resurgence of a depressive episode. Once she left the set, however, she no longer had the hair and makeup crew to hide her disheveled, defeated demeanor.

Every now and then one of her friends would call her to check in on her – to which she dismissed them or had no updates. A few of them would try to take her out to lunch or get her out of the house, since she never left except to meticulously scan the surrounding neighborhoods for Billie whilst driving. Her roommate was at least making sure she was eating, and oftentimes had to physically pull Chloe off the couch to have her shower. Secretly, Chloe appreciated it. But she still pitched a struggle regardless.

After 4 days of coming up empty handed, Chloe was ready to give up. Of course she loved her dog to the end of the world, but she found it hard to function without him sitting next to her or sharing a space on her bed. She was steadily running out of ideas. So when she heard her phone ring on Day 4, Chloe was ready to brush off yet another phone call from her friends trying to drag her out of the house. As she lay horizontally on her couch, she could see her phone light up from the surface of her coffee table, chiming with a custom Britney Spears ringtone she had downloaded a few years prior. It rang the full course of the song, and the caller was booted to voicemail.

After several moments of staring at her phone, she ended up slapping her hands against the table to grasp it when it was just out of reach, curious to who was calling her at 1pm on a Saturday. Strangely enough, it was a number Chloe didn't recognize. But they did leave a voicemail. A shaky voice started to speak on the other end, pausing awkwardly at points and leaving weird moments of silence. Chloe continued to listen anyway.

 **Voicemail, 1:04pm:** "Hey, um, Chloe. I'm calling to let you know that I think I found your dog? Well, I know it's your dog. Your name is on the tag of his collar, and I recognize him from online and stuff. Anyway, I found this number also on the tag so I thought I'd call. I found him down by the waterfront, so I took him to my place. I fed him some cat food… sorry it's all I have. Um, yeah. Give me a call back when you get this. Thanks. Bye"

Chloe sat mouth agape for a strong second before immediately pressing the return call button. Her heartbeat continued to escalate as she listened to the dial tone, praying the person would immediately pick up since they only left a voicemail just a few minutes prior.

"Hello?"

"Hi!" Chloe breathed, excitement hitched in her throat. "You found my dog?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. I took him to my apartment for safety. He's doing okay." The voice reciprocated.

"Holy shit." Chloe muttered, disbelief plaguing her face. "Shit, yeah, can I see him? Where do you live? I don't know if that's a weird thing to ask, sorry." The redhead was near emanating the awkwardness from the other girl across the line, desperate to see her furry friend. She quickly debated whether or not this was a scam, but not many people had Chloe's phone number, so she took the risk in thinking this mysterious girl actually found Billie.

"No, it's totally fine, I get it. Plus I kinda know who you are anyway." The girl realized that might have sounded crazy fan stalkery, so she continued: "You're not a complete stranger, I mean. I can text you my address?"

"Yes please, that would be great." Chloe bulldozed over the asynchrony. "When can I come get him?"

"Anytime today works, I guess."

"Okay, be there in an hour." And with that, the redhead quickly hung up the phone to go throw on better clothes and gather an assembly of dog treats.

* * *

Beca Mitchell was an amateur producer. She had skipped college to pursue a music career, thriving off a large SoundCloud presence and having a keen ear for mixing. She had self-moved to LA after being hired by a small producing firm by the shore, mainly keeping to herself and just concentrating on her music. Her days at the studio were long, but she didn't do much at home to warrant complaining about her extended hours.

Beca Mitchell was an amateur producer.

So when she spotted the raggedy white dog that belonged to none other than Chloe Beale, she was a little beside herself. She was walking back to her apartment after surprisingly getting out of work while the sun was still out, taking several side alleys after picking up something at the pharmacy. Although the terrified pup was cowering by a pile of trash and was remarkably dirty, Beca could still recognize the characteristic mop-like look that she saw every now and again on social media. Even though she hated to admit that she followed current celebrity news, it was hard not to when living in the heart of all the showbiz. Plus, she had to keep up-to-date if she ever were to work with any of them.

After she cautiously approached the smaller dog, she took the liberty to take him into the safety of her apartment. Beca had a pet of her own, a goofy male tabby cat, so the only pet food she had to give Billie was technically for cats. It's not like it really mattered all that much, since the dog graciously took the food and water Beca provided for him. She later soothed and stroked his back, relaxing him to the point where both the dog and the cat ended up lazily dozing on the couch. It wasn't until everything calmed down that Beca realized that Chloe Beale's dog was now in her apartment. And what the actual fuck was she supposed to do?

She investigated both Chloe's Instagram and Twitter, but figured it would be difficult to get ahold of someone of that status. And how many people at this point claimed they found her dog already and were just hoping to meet Chloe in the process? Billie readjusting on the couch interrupted her thoughts, as the dog caused a jingling commotion from his collar during the shuffle. Beca's eyes widened at the sound, immediately getting up to examine the collar for dog tags. Low and behold, listed on an engraving was Chloe's name and phone number.

After a quick glance over at Billie, she tentatively picked up her phone and tapped the digits onto the phone screen. Her initial call was sent to voicemail, so she left a trembling message for the actress that her dog was now in her possession. It didn't take long for the redhead to call back, and the two decided that Chloe was coming by to get her dog within the hour. Within the hour. Oh, shit. The mildly star struck Beca had already lost track of time, and the knock on her door was indicative that her hour had already passed.

She approached the door with soft footsteps, adjusting the dark flannel she was wearing and patting her hair down in an attempt to look presentable. She took a quick peek through her peephole before letting out an abbreviated sigh, unlocking the door from the inside and opening to the sight of Chloe Beale.

She was shorter in person than on film, but still surpassed Beca by a few inches. She adorned bright red hair, accompanied by crystal eyes that beamed in excitement but also a touch of anxiety. She fumbled her hands along the length of her fuzzy sweater, not speaking immediately but almost expecting Beca to say something first. Beca was too mesmerized by the beauty that was in her doorway to speak.

She shook her head and squinted her eyes quickly before breaking the silence. "Uh, hi. Come in." The redhead crossed the entryway, waiting for Beca to close the door before following her to the living room. "Sorry I didn't get a chance to bathe him or anything."

"Billie!" Chloe exclaimed, prompting the dog to bolt from the couch and greet her. Beca clamped her mouth shut from additional commentary, merely just watching the two reunite.

Only a few moments had passed before Chloe spoke again. "Thank you so much for finding him. I was beginning to lose it. I also thought someone had found him and just wanted to keep him, or something weird. Just thank god it was you." She had put emphasis on the word "you," a detail Beca was mentally over-analyzing as the redhead spoke. "And you didn't have to go to the effort of giving him a bath too, nonsense!"

She continued to pet her dog as Beca stood there somewhat awkwardly, unsure of how to proceed in the conversation. The feeling of her cat rubbing on her leg prompted her to answer: "He became good friends with my cat, at least."

Chloe beamed at Beca from her crouching position. "That's amazing. I didn't think he liked cats."

"His name is George Clooney." Chloe giggled, causing Beca to also snicker at the announcement of her cat's name. It was kinda stupid, she had to admit. But she got the idea from one of her closest friends naming their cat after Meryl Streep.

"And what about your name? I realized I never asked." The redhead stood up to match Beca's eyeline, cradling Billy in her arms.

"Beca." The shorter brunette answered firmly.

"Well, nice to meet you Beca." The two exchanged a semi-firm handshake, and they erupted into nervous giggles once they realized the formality of the greeting.

"I really appreciate this, you have no idea." The redhead began, peering at her dog. "Can I make it up to you somehow? How about lunch, dinner?"

Beca smiled, easing into the kindness that she wouldn't have otherwise expected. Chloe was genuine, and Beca could respect that. "I can do dinner, for sure."

"Awesome. Then it's a date."

Beca blinked several times in a row, not sure if Chloe meant a date or a date date. Chloe refusing to break eye contact whilst flashing a wide smile indicated that she was serious. Man, that smile was infectious.

"Yeah, a date." Beca finalized, breaking out into a larger smile as the two women continued to stand there, easing into each other's presence.


	2. Chapter 2

As the two acquainted souls made plans for an early dinner, it was decided that Beca would pick up Chloe, but Chloe got to pick where they ate. The idea seemed a bit backwards to Beca, mainly since Chloe was the one who was taking her out, but she went with it anyway purely to see what kind of restaurants Chloe liked to frequent. Beca also secretly enjoyed driving – she prided herself in being both an excellent driver and the owner of a rather "vintage" car. All in all, it couldn't have been more perfect.

Although the countdown to the date was slowly approaching, the problem that Beca was continually stumbling over was what the actual fuck to wear. After she stood in front of her closet staring at her clothes for a solid twenty minutes, she eventually gave up and ended up texting Chloe to scope out the general dress code of the restaurant.

 **Beca Mitchell:** Am I allowed to ask what I should wear for this?

Beca tried to slip in a little humor, adding an emoji at the end of the text to cut a bit of the sass. She cursed at herself for looking like an idiot, but it was better to ask ahead of time than being underdressed or overdressed.

 **Chloe Beale:** Something nice, it's not too fancy, I promise :)

Chloe wanted to bust out a fancy dress more than anybody, but she didn't want to scare off Beca too quickly. Although Beca had eagerly agreed to the date, it was apparent that idea of the date in general was somewhat intimidating. Chloe couldn't tell whether it was because of a gay thing or because of a Chloe thing, so she picked a more casual, sit-down restaurant just in case. She decided she made the right decision once Beca came to pick her up.

Beca pulled next to the curb of the address Chloe had texted her right on time, casually rolling down the passenger window and calling for the redhead sitting on a stoop. Chloe, realizing it was Beca's voice, bounded off the steps and approached the car window after quickly examining the car from the outside.

"Damn, Beca! This car!" Chloe started, pausing to peer at the interior. "I didn't picture you as a BMW type of gal. It's so cute!"

The smaller brunette sat behind the steering wheel in nice pinstripe button-down that was rolled up to her elbows. She rested her left wrist lazily over the steering wheel as her other hand stayed on the clutch. A delicate gold necklace adorned her neck, and Chloe could smell a small daze of perfume as she opened the car door.

"Thanks! It's an e36." Beca answered nonchalantly before noticing that Chloe looked mildly confused. "I like my bimmers." Beca added sheepishly.

Chloe smiled as she sat down, leaning back into the leather of the passenger seat. "Well, it suits you." The redhead responded as she put on her seatbelt.

"Nice get-up." Beca said after a few moments of eyeing the white top and bomber jacket that Chloe flashed in the process of getting into the car. She also happened to carry Billie, who proceeded to rest in her lap comfortably once Beca started to drive. Normally Beca would have minded if someone brought their dog with them on a date, let alone her car, but Chloe just got Billie back today and the dog was generally pretty chill. She only wished she could take George Clooney with her out of the house, but she wasn't about to be that crazy cat lady who took her cat outside on a leash. People could easily make an exception for dogs at restaurants, but how often did you see a cat just hanging out underneath the table?

Chloe interrupted Beca's thoughts by accepting her compliment, adding: "I'm going to give you directions so you don't get to peek at where we're going!"

"Okay, okay! No cheating here." Beca threw up her hands, laughing in the process. "Lead the way."

Chloe began giving directions, notifying Beca of where to turn well enough in advance to avoid her going the wrong way. Usually giving late-notice directions was one of Beca's biggest pet peeves, but the redhead was doing pretty well enough for herself. Chloe also warned that the restaurant may be a bit of a drive, so Beca turned on the radio to play gently in the background. It wasn't until a particular song came up next on the generic pop radio station's playlist that Chloe began to ooze waves of excitement.

"I love this song!" Chloe beamed, starting to sing along. Beca turned up the volume dial before hearing what song was actually playing. She ended up trying to hide a smug smile once she realized she helped produce this track not too long ago.

"What?" Chloe commented on Beca's side smirk, curious to if the brunette was making fun of her.

"Nothing, I'm just remembering how much of a bitch this song was to produce. The hook right before the drop is a sound loop of part of the bridge, but I had to distort it like four times over. I felt like Skrillex." Beca answered as she looked in her rear-view mirror.

"You produced this?" Chloe asked incredulously, mouth slightly agape. "This is like the best song out there right now, are you kidding?"

"I do some vocals in the back of it too."

"What? Beca!"

"Did you want me to lie?" Beca replied with a laugh, glancing over at the redhead.

"I guess I just never realized what exactly you did for a living…"

"I did say amateur producer." Beca winked at her, looking back at the road.

"I didn't realize it was like that. That's not amateur!" Chloe motioned towards the radio. "That's definitely nowhere near close to amateur. You've got to be really good to make something like that."

Beca only blushed in reply, trying to dampen the amount of praise she was receiving. Producers were scarcely recognized when it came to the rising success of a song, and she was normally blown off for the main singers on her projects.

"You should hear the first cut of it, that shit was weird." Beca managed to say, deterring her awkwardness to something else.

"Really? Oh my god I'd love that."

"Sure, I'll show you later."

The two eventually made it to the general area that the restaurant was located according to Chloe's directions. As Beca was driving down the busy road of N La Cienega Boulevard, she realized that they had reached Beverly Hills.

"You can pick anywhere to park." Chloe instructed, still trying to avoid giving away the mystery dinner spot.

Even after Beca parallel parked on the main road and let Chloe out of the car by opening her door, the redhead remained tight-lipped about which restaurant on the block was theirs. Chloe only shushed Beca and coyly told her to follow her lead. Beca ended up following Chloe along the sidewalk before she was stopped in front of a black and red decorated restaurant.

"No fucking way." Beca breathed after Chloe led her through the front door of a restaurant with The Stinking Rose in large letters on the building.

Chloe bounded up to the hostess, still expecting Beca to follow. "Reservations for Billie." She flashed a smile before whispering with a wink: "Back table."

Beca had a lot of questions already. First, Chloe had her own table. Second, she had her own alias to go with the table. Third, they didn't give a flying fuck whether she had her dog. And fourth, how did she pick this restaurant?

"Chloe." Beca said sternly, trying to whisper into the girl's ear in front of her as they walked along a convoluted route of the restaurant.

Chloe purposely ignored her, waiting until they were seated to finally give her date attention. They both sat down and laid their purses on their chairs before Beca immediately leaned across the table into the redhead asking: "How did you know this was my favorite restaurant?"

Chloe cocked her head slightly before responding, "This is my favorite restaurant."

The two stared at each for a few moments, trying to measure the others' facial expression. Chloe was trying to play off the almost selfish fact that she took Beca to a place where she was pretty much a regular, and Beca was trying to gauge whether Chloe picked this particular Italian restaurant on purpose.

"It's because of the garlic." They said in unison, causing an eruption of smiles from each of them. The Stinking Rose was notorious for its garlic theme and garlic-infused dishes, and there truly was garlic pretty much everywhere. Paintings and other décor adorned the walls; strings of garlic hung at strategic places, and each dish on the menu had a plethora of the herby vegetable.

"This," Chloe motioned between the two of them with her fingers, "this is gonna work out."

Beca could only humbly smile in reply before the two started to browse the food selection. "Then you should know that the garlic fries are pretty much the best appetizer to exist?" Beca challenged, looking up from her menu.

"Only on the entire planet!" Chloe mused. "Except, how are you feeling about fondue?"

"I can fon-do that." Beca struck a pun before shaking her head in embarrassment. "Jesus, that was corny."

"We're in a garlic restaurant, where did you find corn?" Chloe bantered back, causing the two could only laugh at their dorkiness.

It wasn't long before the two lost themselves in conversation. After hearing Beca's song on the radio, Chloe inquired further about Beca's musical upbringing. Beca ended up mentioning she was in a small a capella club in college, a fact she was minorly embarrassed about but one that seemed to pique the actor's interest. Even if Beca's small group made it to the finals of the a capella national championship a few times, that sort of news never really gained mainstream attention. Chloe, however, was all over that, so Beca was only further encouraged to keep revealing personal stories. Beca initially wanted to impress Chloe, using her minor musical accomplishments to almost win over her date. However, she mentally gave up that idea when she realized that hubris wasn't charming, and Chloe probably saw more interesting things on a typical Tuesday.

As the two bantered back and forth about their careers, they realized exactly how caught up they had been once the server came back with their fondue.

"So, if your work plays on the radio, how come I haven't heard of you?" Chloe asked before quickly adding with stumbling breath: "I don't mean that in a like a snooty way, I just figured that if your stuff is that out in the world, how come your face isn't paired with it?

Beca chuckled before thinking of an answer. "You know Julia Michaels, right?"

"Yes, I love her!"

"And you basically know her from the songs she sings?"

"Well, yeah." Chloe answered, trying to follow Beca's analogy.

"Well, she actually writes for like a shit ton of other artists and has been doing that way before she came out with her own singles. So, I kind of think of it like that. I don't sing and release my own songs but I've worked for a lot of artists. Preliminary Julia Michaels. Obviously, I'm nowhere close to her because she's fucking amazing and I don't want to sound conceited or anything…"

Chloe interrupted Beca's small ramble with a smile and quick retort: "You're just a little too humble for the limelight, but you still have all the same expectations as an A list celebrity. You still interact with all of them, but you're like their shadow."

"Yeah." Beca finalized, appreciative that the redhead understood her position. "I don't really mind it, because I don't know if I could handle being bombarded with fans all of the time. I feel like I would flip shit on them. Yet again, I didn't really keep it that cool with you either."

"Oh, hush, you treated me like an actual human being. And that's what really matters. It bothers me when I'm out walking or going somewhere or something and people try to get my autograph or a picture. I love people and I'm grateful for my fans, but my job doesn't really have an off button, if you know what I mean. That's why your position strikes a tinge of envy – you get the perks of fame without the attention."

Beca nodded in reply, realizing that her previous assumptions about Chloe were completely and utterly false. Obviously it was wrong to blatantly assume all celebrities were airheads, but Beca legitimately didn't know what to think about Chloe Beale before the ginger had entered her apartment to get her dog. She was great in movies and acted well in any role, but she knew nothing of her personally. Just because she was strikingly beautiful and carried herself well didn't mean she had no IQ to match the lines she spewed in her projects. Chloe even brought up a debate about intersectional feminism halfway into getting their main course, as if it was the most casual topic to discuss over dinner. Beca also falsely assumed that Chloe had the usual short attention span of the typical celebrity, but she was quickly proven otherwise when Chloe seemed to recall small details that Beca had mentioned across her stories. The talented actress actually had a lot of depth to her – something that Beca understood more and more as she continued to learn about the complexity of the character known as Chloe Beale. As the two talked over their vampire-repelling pasta dishes, Beca began to see Chloe with the fondness of a childhood friend rather than the status symbol that was portrayed over mainstream media.

"This was… this was really great." Beca announced as the plates were taken away and they were left with silence and culinary happiness.

"Well I just had to reward my hero somehow." Chloe facetiously sneered, crinkling her nose at Beca who immediately blushed at the sentiment. Chloe began to gather her things, and Beca mirrored her actions until she realized they never got the checkbook.

"Chloe, I was going to pay." Beca whispered, leaning over the private table in the back corner of the restaurant.

"No don't worry about it, it just goes on my tab." Chloe answered nonchalantly, swinging her purse onto her shoulder and gathering the leash of her dog.

"You have a tab here?" Beca questioned in disbelief. "But…"

"How about you just get me next time? I did say I was taking you out to dinner, remember?" She coyly smiled before starting to make her way towards a back exit of the restaurant.

"Okay." Beca agreed hazily, following the path of the gorgeous girl and her dog. Man, this girl was cool.


End file.
